INTRODUCTION

FRANKFORT URBAN DESIGN/PROJECT RATIONALE

Frankfort is situated in Indiana’s rich farm belt, the Tipton Till Plain and continues to be home to hardworking peoples. It has served for a hundred years as the seat of government in Clinton County due in large part to the confluence of multiple state highways and rail service which served the location. As a result of these prominent assets, the town’s urban core established itself around the Courthouse and at or near the transportation corridors.

Stately multi-story masonry structures, standing shoulder to shoulder, housed a diverse community of merchants and their families in the vicinity of the lively square, offering friendly density and friendly scale and a wide variety of goods and services to the immediate residents and to incoming guests from the far reaches of the county. Street and sidewalk activity was sustained year-round. As a result, a permanent resident population thrived in the core of the town within two blocks of the square…and the town grew steadily, enjoying prosperity as a regional hub for commerce and public gathering, for pride filled celebrations…all, nested within a relatively compact and pleasant walkable urban environment.

But, insidiously, this idyllic urban form slowly began to change about fifty years ago…to erode in a tangible sense…as the popularity of the automobile supplanted the citizenry’s’ previous contentment with the shape of things. New developments on the outskirts of town that were easily accessible by automobile and where land was expansive and affordable became the new destinations of choice. In order to compete and seemingly survive, many downtown merchants demanded parking for their businesses…thus scores of buildings were removed to make room for parked cars…resulting in a patchwork of bland vacant spaces…unfriendly pedestrian corridors, and a disconnectedness within the community fabric. In their heyday, these buildings had housed hundreds of downtown residents and had contributed to the density and pleasant character that made the downtown a primary destination.

Today, only a fraction of the buildings remain one block off the square, as a ring of parking lots has replaced them. Most new buildings that have been constructed, do not provide the same street front connectivity, intimate character and/or the comfortable scale of their predecessors. These factors, in combination with competition from the “auto zone” businesses on the fringe of town, have diminished the core and its activities into a shell of its former self.

What then shall we do? How can Frankfort regain an active, sustainable and memorable core? The answer is simply this. The downtown, if it is to thrive, must become an attractive place where people want to live….and subsequently shop, seek services, dine and recreate. It must become a place where investors are willing to take a risk…to invest in building new housing and mixed use developments. Young families of today are seeking locations where not only schools are good, but also where amenities are abundant, where resources and natural features are available. In our free market society, development will follow where these opportunities exist…it’s as simple as that.

We understand that a reversal of fortunes like this will require time… and can’t be accomplished overnight. As urban designers we also understand that rebuilding or reviving an urban center in a physical sense happens a half a block at a time, a few destinations at a time to create a nucleus for growth. What we propose in this document is a new amenity infrastructure plan. This plan will become a catalyst for new investment in the blocks near the square and most importantly, a reason to come to Frankfort on a regular basis, open a business, or even take up residency here. This formula for creating walkable, livable places is proven.

The amenity infrastructure plan will require significant financial resources from community businesses, corporations, banks, foundations, and everyday taxpayers to make it a reality. If it is implemented in less than a stellar way, however, it will likely fail to thrive. Quality in design, construction, programming, and ongoing maintenance is primary in insuring its success as a sustainable economic engine.